Orientation 2009

Orientation 2009 is a program organized to help you become immersed in the life of the University and your new surroundings. Laying the foundation for your future takes time; it is a process, not an event!

Your orientation to Brandon University is about knowing how to put together a successful Brandon University experience. Orientation is more involved than finding out where your classrooms are. It is also not what you did at Prospect or at GO Sessions, which was about choosing the right program and courses.

Universities are different from other levels of schooling. Moreover, you have heard us say that Brandon University is “something special.” Your success at university will depend in part upon your ability to adapt to university life.

Finding your classrooms will be necessary, but orientation is about knowing how to survive at university and there is no way we can teach you how to be a successful university student in a few hours. Therefore, we will introduce you to a communication network and support system that will provide you with necessary and useful information.

The process starts at:

9:00 am on Orientation Day, Tuesday, September 8, 2009

when you will join your MOB (My Orientation Bunch), and meet your student leader. If you have registered for Orientation and are still not sure where to meet your leader, click on Where do I go? Parents and spouses will attend their own Orientation session at this time in the Lorne Watson Recital Hall in the Queen Elizabeth II Music Building.

Your student leader will be an experienced senior student from your faculty or school. Leaders will give you really useful survival advice, conduct a campus tour that goes beyond telling you the name of a building, take you to the student BBQ, and will help you begin to meet people, which is more central to your success.

At 11:00 am you will attend the Launch Ceremony. parents, spouses, and other supporters will join you to hear the President welcome you to BU, and hear a graduate’s perspective on the adventure ahead of you.

In the afternoon you can attend the Welcome to BU Fair in the central courtyard on campus, buy books or pay tuition (if you haven’t already done so), or attend to other matters. However, there will also be opportunities to meet other students and have fun.

Entertainment and Inner-Faculty Competitions During the following week there will be numerous entertainment events as well as fun Inner-Faculty competitions. So join that fellow first-year student or group and get in on the fun! More details of these events and competitions will be posted on the Orientation website and in the Orientation Newsletter you will receive on Sept. 8.

Special Sessions There will also be specific information sessions for mature students, International students, First Nations & Aboriginal Counselling students and Music students in the afternoon. Ask your student leader where to find these sessions.

By the end of your first term, you will pretty much have the university scene figured out. Of course, there is always help available, whether it is the academic advisors and counsellors in Student Services, your professors, or the Students’ Union.